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Regardless of Reviews, Indias Bitcoin Policy Hasnt Altered

Media sources in India reported this week that the government had deemed bitcoin illegal, triggering a stir that appeared�to be overblown.

Newspapers such as The Economic Occasions of India�declared that, in accordance to a statement from Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal, use of the digital currency was "unlawful" and exposed end users to prospective violations of anti-income laundering principles.

At first greeted as a shift in policy for India, which is residence to a selection of organizations operating on the two bitcoin and blockchain-related tasks, the statement has given that come to be observed as just a reiteration of an earlier position taken by officials in the nation.

Certainly, the statement was nearly identical to one particular issued by the Reserve Financial institution of India in late 2013, which was largely a warning about cost volatility and theft dangers.

"The absence of details of counterparties in this kind of peer-to-peer anonymous/ pseudonymous methods could topic the customers to unintentional breaches of anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) laws," the central bank said at the time.

A published copy of the query posed to the Indian government bears out these similarities:

"The absence of counter parties in utilization of [virtual currencies]�including bitcoins, for illicit and unlawful routines in anonymous/ pseudonymous programs could topic the consumers to unintentional breaches of anti-cash laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) laws."

Irrespective of its interpretation, the controversy sparked by the misconstrued statement has led to calls for the Indian government to clearly outline its place on the legality of bitcoin.

A petition�created on Alter.org has attracted just in excess of 7,600 signatures. A second a single, related in scope, has drawn much more than one,110 supporters.

India map image via Shutterstock

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Published at Fri, 31 Mar 2017 18:12:12 +0000